colours of the reef

After two very enjoyable days at Faith Reef we dropped anchor in 5 metres of crystal clear water at the nearby Darley Reef.  We were deep inside Darley Reef and while it was technically not a lagoon, we did feel we were surrounded by reef, giving us the comfort of plenty of shelter. 

Visiting the Great Barrier Reef is probably on more bucket lists than we can appreciate, so being out here on the Great Barrier Reef, in the ‘middle’ of the ocean with no land in sight, on our own boat, is not lost on us. It is truly a wonderful experience, especially in calm weather. I do enjoy sharing our experiences and I know my drone has been a huge bonus in capturing the vastness of the outer reef, along with its amazing colours, so hopefully you are enjoying our fabulous Great Barrier Reef too, albeit from afar!

The fish life at Darley Reef was wonderful. We all spotted big fish, along with an abundance of smaller marine life – Clams, Christmas Tree Worms, Gorgonia Fans, Gobies, Pullers, Feather Stars, a range of Anemonefish including the very shy Spine-cheeked Anemonefish and even Squid. Coral Trout was once again on the menu with Kevin spearing each of us a meal, along with a Painted Cray.

We had two days of super calm weather, even a glass-out on our second day. It was beautiful.

Just in front of us was a small shallow lagoon, which you can see clearly in the photo below. This turned out to be the place to snorkel. 

Capturing these Squid on camera was a bit of a treat. They circled me for some time, three of them, which gave me the opportunity to get quite close. Both Chances and Vivacious were catching Squid from their boats and generously sharing their spoils at happy hour, so I was particularly chuffed to capture these critters on camera and share my photos with them both.

The reef was patchy at Darley, as it is at most reefs, but we did find there was plenty of fish life along with plenty of healthy coral making it a spot we will definitely revisit. The colours of the reef, both from above and below the water, were again mesmerizing.

I think I overdosed on the Christmas Tree Worms in my last post so I haven’t included many this time, but they were prolific here at Darley too.  I did spot my first Nudi for the season! And some large colourful clams.

Here’s a slideshow of a mixed selection of photos … use the < > to scroll through …

I quite enjoyed capturing these Gobies. They aren’t as colourful as some critters, but watching their behaviour is fun. They’re quite small, often perched on their front fins, just staring ahead. On lookout for predators maybe. You have to be quick with the shutter though, as they scoot off very quickly once alarmed.

Talking about little critters … this juvenile Anemonefish was very reluctant to leave its home …

Our Starlink’s weather forecast was telling us a big blow was going to arrive overnight in coming days, so after a quick stopover at Little Broadhurst Reef, we unfortunately had to leave the outer reef.  But we shouldn’t be greedy as we had nearly a week of perfect weather, great company, Coral Trout … and I had a wonderful time with my cameras. 

We are now in Townsville, after a pleasant few days at Maggie. Washing, shopping and chores!

PS. It was a very big blow too. 30+ knots over night. We were very glad we came in.